Global Courant 2023-04-11 16:00:00
Idaho Governor Brad Little signed into law last week making it illegal to help a minor get an abortion by giving them drugs or helping them cross state lines to terminate a pregnancy without state consent. parents.
House Bill 232, the first of its kind, creates a new crime called “abortion trafficking” and prohibits adults from obtaining abortion drugs for a minor or “recruiting, harboring, or transporting the pregnant minor” across state lines to an get an abortion without a parent’s or guardian’s consent, according to Associated Press.
Little, a Republican, signed the bill into law last Wednesday. Abortion is banned in the state.
Those convicted of violating the new law face a prison sentence of two to five years and could be sued by the parents or guardians of the girl involved.
The law also allows the Idaho Attorney General to press charges against people accused of breaking the law, even if the state’s attorney chooses not to pursue criminal charges.
REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR OF IDAHO SIGNS BILL TO MAKE IT A CRIME OF PROVIDING HORMONES, PUBERTION STORES TO MINORS
Idaho Governor Brad Little (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images/File)
To ensure compliance with the constitutional right to travel between states, Idaho law specifically focuses only on the portion of a trip that occurs within the state when abortion services are requested from an out-of-state provider.
“House bill 242 does not criminalize, prohibit or impede interstate travel, nor restrict an adult woman from having an abortion in another state,” Little said in his signing statement.
“Rather, the ‘abortion trafficking’ provision in the bill is only intended to prevent unemancipated underage girls from being taken across state lines for an abortion without the knowledge and consent of her parent or guardian,” the governor added.
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A sign reading “My body, my choice” is affixed to a streetlight in front of the Idaho State Capitol on May 3, 2022. (Sarah A. Miller / Idaho Statesman via AP)
The bill was condemned by the state director of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates-West in Idaho.
“Once again Idaho Governor ignored voters and signed HB 242 into law, creating the nation’s first crime of the so-called ‘abortion trade.’ This legislation is despicable and we will do everything we can to stop it,” the organization tweeted. .
Idaho is one of 13 U.S. states to restrict abortion at all stages of pregnancy since the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade last June.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, thirty-six states mandate parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion. In contrast, states such as Washington, Oregon, and California have presented themselves as safe havens for abortions.
Idaho is one of 13 U.S. states to restrict abortion at all stages of pregnancy since the Supreme Court’s decision that overturned Roe v. Wade last June. (Poweroffeverver via Getty Images/File)
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Idaho also recently passed legislation making it a felony to give sex hormones and puberty blockers to minors.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
